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Observed dynamic soilstructure interaction in scale testing of offshore
wind turbine foundations
S. Bhattacharya
a,n
, N. Nikitas
b
, J. Garnsey
c
, N.A. Alexander
d
, J. Cox
d
, D. Lombardi
e
,
D. Muir Wood
f
, D.F.T. Nash
d
a
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU27 XH, UK
b
School of Civil Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
c
RWE Innogy, Great Western Way, Swindon SN5 8ZT, UK
d
University of Bristol, Department of Civil Engineering, Queens Building, Bristol BS8 1TR, UK
e
School of Engineering & the Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University, Merchiston Campus, Edinburgh EH10 5DT, UK
f
Division of Civil Engineering, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HN, UK
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 15 May 2013
Received in revised form
17 July 2013
Accepted 25 July 2013
Available online 3 September 2013
Keywords:
Dynamics
Soilstructure interaction
Offshore wind turbines
Frequency
a b s t r a c t
Monopile foundations have been commonly used to support offshore wind turbine generators (WTGs),
but this type of foundation encounters economic and technical limitations for larger WTGs in water
depths exceeding 30 m. Offshore wind farm projects are increasingly turning to alternative multipod
foundations (for example tetrapod, jacket and tripods) supported on shallow foundations to reduce the
environmental effects of piling noise. However the characteristics of these foundations under dynamic
loading or long term cyclic wind turbine loading are not fully understood. This paper summarises the
results from a series of small scaled tests (1:100, 1:150 and 1:200) of a complete National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) wind turbine model on three types of foundations: monopiles, symmetric
tetrapod and asymmetric tripod. The test bed used consists of either kaolin clay or sand and up to
1.4 million loading cycles were applied. The results showed that the multipod foundations (symmetric or
asymmetric) exhibit two closely spaced natural frequencies corresponding to the rocking modes of
vibration in two principle axes. Furthermore, the corresponding two spectral peaks change with repeated
cycles of loading and they converge for symmetric tetrapods but not for asymmetric tripods. From the
fatigue design point of view, the two spectral peaks for multipod foundations broaden the range of
frequencies that can be excited by the broadband nature of the environmental loading (wind and wave)
thereby impacting the extent of motions. Thus the system lifespan (number of cycles to failure) may
effectively increase for symmetric foundations as the two peaks will tend to converge. However, for
asymmetric foundations the system life may continue to be affected adversely as the two peaks will not
converge. In this sense, designers should prefer symmetric foundations to asymmetric foundations.
Crown Copyright & 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
The design and construction of foundations for offshore turbines
are challenging because of the harsh environmental conditions and
as a result provide a focus of major research in Europe, see for
example, Achmus et al. [1], Kuo et al. [18], and Cullar et al. [10]. The
UK has also embarked on a massive scheme of investment in
offshore wind power development to meet future energy chal-
lenges. Currently, 1.5 GW of electricity comes from offshore wind
farms, but to meet the EU target an additional 28 GW will be
required by 2020. This would lead to the construction of over 6000
separate turbine structures in the next 10 years, requiring a massive
increase in installation capacity. The scale of this challenge is
illustrated in Table 1.
Furthermore, the wind farms that will be created as part of this
offshore development will be situated in far deeper water than
existing wind farms. The majority of operational offshore wind-
turbines situated in UK waters (Rounds 1 and 2) are founded on
monopiles in water depths up to 35 m. However, these founda-
tions may not be competitive for larger wind turbine generators in
water depths over 30 m due to the increased costs and risks
associated with their fabrication, transportation and installation
processes.
Therefore, other types of foundations such as three and four leg
jackets, tripods, tri-piles and tetrapods are increasingly being
designed and deployed. Furthermore environmental drivers are
leading to increasing research and development of suction caisson
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/soildyn
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering
0267-7261/$ - see front matter Crown Copyright & 2013 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.soildyn.2013.07.012
n
Corresponding author. Tel.: +44 01483689534.
E-mail addresses: S.Bhattacharya@surrey.ac.uk,
subhamoy.bhattacharya@gmail.com (S. Bhattacharya).
Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 54 (2013) 4760
Author's personal copy
foundations beneath these structures which avoid the noise
impact associated with piling. Whilst such foundation/substruc-
ture combinations have previously been used in the oil and gas
industry typically to support Minimum Facilities Platforms, riser
towers, suction anchors and the like, there is relatively little
experience of the dynamic soilstructure interaction of these
foundations under loading from wind turbine generators. Fig. 1
shows the schematic diagram of a range of foundations either in
use or proposed for offshore wind turbines.
To date there has been no long-term observations of the
performance of these relatively novel structures. On the other
hand, monitoring of a limited number of offshore wind turbines
supported on monopiles has indicated a departure of the system
dynamics from their design assumptions [17]. This paper sum-
marises the results from a series of small scaled tests of a typical
wind turbine supported on three types of foundations: monopile
(Fig. 1a), tetrapod suction caisson foundation (Fig. 1b), asymmetric
tripod suction caisson foundation (Fig. 1c). The focus of the study
is on dynamic characterisation of these structures (dynamic
characterisation being interpreted as the free vibration response
of the system and its relation to the forcing frequencies applied to
the system). The study highlights the difference in dynamic
behaviour between monopile and multipod type of foundations.
It will be shown that the different dynamic behaviour is crucial for
long term performance of these structures.
2. Dynamic considerations in design of wind turbine
foundations
As a result of their slender nature, offshore wind-turbines are
dynamically sensitive at low frequencies, the rst modal frequency
of the system (less than 1 Hz) being very close to the excitation
frequencies imposed by environmental and mechanical loads. Fig. 2
shows the main frequencies for a three-bladed National Renewable
Energy Laboratory (NREL) standard 5 MW wind turbine with an
operational interval of 6.912.1 rpm. The rotor frequency (often
termed 1P) lies in the range 0.1150.2 Hz and the corresponding
blade passing frequency for a three-bladed turbine lies in the range
0.3450.6 Hz. The gure also shows typical frequency distributions
for wind and wave loading. The peak frequency of typical North Sea
offshore waves is about 0.1 Hz.
It is clear from the frequency content of the applied loads that
the designer of the turbine and foundation has to select a system
frequency (the global frequency of the overall wind turbine
foundation system) which lies outside this range of frequencies
in order to avoid system resonance. The usual choice for xed
wind turbines would lie in the interval between turbine and blade
passing frequencies (referred to as a softstiff structure). Other
denitions of softsoft and stiffstiff can be found in Bhatta-
charya et al. [8].
It is considered useful to review the relevant codes of practice.
DNV Guidelines [12] suggest that the natural frequency of the
wind turbine should not come close to the likely forcing frequen-
cies arising from imposed environmental loads. It is also specied
that the global frequency of the system should be at least 710%
away from operational 1P and 2P/3P frequencies, as indicated by
the dotted lines in Fig. 2. 2P and 3P relate to blade passing
frequencies for 2 bladed and 3 bladed wind turbines.
Small scale 1-g tests reported by Lombardi [20], Bhattacharya
et al. [6,8] and Cox et al. [9] showed that the natural frequency of a
wind turbine system changes with cycles of loading. The main
reason for this change is the alteration of the foundation stiffness
due to strain-hardening or strain-softening behaviour of the soil
supporting the foundation owing to the loading cycles.
The main conclusions drawn from the study can be sum-
marised as follows:
(a) For strain-hardening sites (for example, loose to medium
dense sand) where the stiffness of the soil increases with
cycles of loading, the natural frequency of the overall system
will increase.
(b) For strain-softening sites (clay sites) where the stiffness of the
soil may decrease with cycles of loading, the natural frequency
of the overall system will also decrease correspondingly.
Of course, this depends on the strain level in the soil next to
the pile and the number of cycles.
These conclusions have been supported by evidence of limited
eld measurements at Lely Island reported by Ku hn [17]. Cyclic
element tests on soil showing stiffness increase, and cyclic tests on
foundations alone have also corroborated these conclusions.
Nomenclature
E Young's modulus of caisson skirt
t thickness of caisson skirt
h caisson depth
G shear modulus of surrounding soil
D diameter of the caisson or pile
H
max
bearing capacity in horizontal direction
V
max
bearing capacity in vertical direction
V vertical load
H horizontal load
buoyant soil unit weight
f
b
natural frequency of the blades (Hz)
f
f
forcing frequency (Hz)
f
n
natural frequency (Hz)
L length of tower
s

hoop stresses
p soil pressure
s
u
undrained shear strength
k
h
horizontal coefcient of soil permeability
P horizontal load
y distance between foundation and load application
s
y
pile yield stress
t
w
pile wall thickness
M
1
mass of foundation frame
M
2
mass of tower
M
3
mass of onboard machinery
m mass of one blade
M
sum
cumulative mass of the foundation, tower, onboard
machinery and a blade
M mass per unit length
a
n
modal number parameter
Table 1
Current and future offshore wind farm statistics [14].
End of 2011 By 2020
Total power production capacity 2 GW 29 GW
Number of wind turbines 636 6000+
Rate of turbine installation required 1 every 11 days 2.5 per day
Depth of water 1020 m 3060 m (round 3)
Distance from shore o30 km Up to 205 km
S. Bhattacharya et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 54 (2013) 4760 48
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2.1. How much frequency change can be allowed?
From a number of site surveys of offshore wind farms it was
observed that the sub-sea sediment at an offshore site can vary
signicantly. In many cases it is composed of a number of discrete
layers with differing properties. It is envisaged that high quality
element tests can provide us with guidance on the nature of the
site, i.e. whether it will be strain-hardening or strain-softening
under cyclic loading. Three cases may arise:
(a) The site is known to be strain-hardening. Theoretically, the
best design for such a site is to place the natural frequency of
the system 10% higher than the highest (1P) frequency, leading
to the maximum allowable frequency change interval span-
ning up to the next resonance limit at the 2P/3P frequency.
(b) The site is known to be strain-softening. The designer may aim
to place the natural frequency at 10% lower than the lowest 2P/
3P frequency value.
(c) This is an unknown site and the behaviour cannot be pre-
dicted. The design is best optimised if the natural frequency is
in the centre between 1P and 2P/3P frequencies.
Table 2 shows the details of a few types of turbines and
the corresponding estimated percentage of allowable frequency
Fig. 1. A schematic diagram showing different types of foundations: (a) monopile; (b) tetrapod; and (c) asymmetric tripod.
Fig. 2. Forcing frequencies plotted against the power spectral densities for a 3 bladed NREL standard 5 MW wind turbine. 3P stands for blade passing frequency.
S. Bhattacharya et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 54 (2013) 4760 49
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change according to above. It is therefore clear that a certain
amount of change in natural frequency is acceptable without
seriously compromising the performance.
In this respect there are three design challenges,
(a) The foundation stiffness must be estimated very accurately
from the available soil data for estimation of natural frequency
of the system. This is signicantly more challenging than the
Ultimate Limit State of Collapse (ULS) design, where conser-
vatism is safe i.e. the soil parameters can be under estimated.
(b) The potential for change in foundation stiffness with time as a
result of cyclic loading must be understood so that the risk of
the system frequency coinciding with a loading frequency can
be minimised.
(c) While a given change in natural frequency may be acceptable
over the life time of the structure, it is necessary to understand
if that change is gradual or sudden. This will have a major
inuence in estimating the ensuing response amplitudes and
subsequently the life cycle fatigue analysis of the structure.
The next section of the paper will explore the answers to some
of these questions through scaled model testing at Bristol Labora-
tories for Advanced Dynamics Engineering (BLADE).
3. Experimental modelling
The main purposes of the experimental testing are as follows:
(1) To characterise the free dynamics of the system: the free
vibration characteristics of the wind turbine system including
the foundation exibility i.e. natural frequency and damping.
(2) To study the effect of cyclic loading on the natural frequency of
the system through uniform loading (sine waves) and random
loading (white noise).
(3) To understand whether or not the total wind turbine system
(including the exibility of the foundation) is non-linear i.e.
whether or not the stiffness of the whole system and thereby
the dynamic response is amplitude dependent.
Modelling the dynamics of offshore wind turbines is very
complex and involves various interactions. The main interactions
are summarised below.
(1) Vibration of the tower resulting from interactions with the
dynamic loads (wind, wave, 1P, 3P and the corresponding
randomness of the loads).
(2) Vibrations of the blade and their transfer to the tower.
(3) Foundationsoil interaction resulting from the cyclic/dynamic
loading on the foundation.
Derivation of scaling laws for 1-g modelling of monopile
supported wind turbines can be found in Bhattacharya et al. [6]
and Lombardi et al. [19]. In the study the six non-dimensional
groups were derived based on the following physical mechanisms:
(1) The strain eld in the soil around a laterally loaded pile which
will control the variation of soil stiffness.
(2) The cyclic stress ratio in the soil in the shear zone.
(3) The rate of soil loading which will inuence the dissipation of
pore water pressure.
(4) The system dynamics, the relative spacing of the system
frequency and the loading frequency.
(5) Bending strain in the monopile foundation for considering the
non-linearity in the material of the pile.
(6) Fatigue in the monopile foundation.
The above non-dimensional groups originally developed for
monopiles by Bhattacharya et al. [6] were also used to analyse
symmetric tetrapod foundations [8]. However later, while study-
ing asymmetric tripod foundations, it was realised that additional
scaling relations are necessary to take into account the geometric
arrangement (i.e. characterising the asymmetry). Thus, this section
of the paper incorporates the additional scaling laws required to
study generic multipod foundations.
The rules of similarity between the model and prototype that
need to be maintained are
(1) Geometric similarity: The dimensions of the small scale model
need to be chosen in such a way that similar modes of
vibration will be excited in model and prototype. It is expected
that rocking modes will govern the multi-pod (tripod or
tetrapod suction piles or caissons) foundation and as a result
relative spacing of individual pod foundations (b in Fig. 3) with
respect to the tower height (L in Fig. 3) needs to be main-
tained, see Eq. (1). This geometrical scaling is also necessary to
determine the point of application of the resultant force on the
model. The aspect ratio of the caisson (diameter to depth ratio)
should also be maintained to ensure the pore water ow is
reproduced, details can be found in Bhattacharya et al. [6].
Fig. 3. Schematic diagram for multi-pod foundation wind turbines.
Table 2
Details of the various turbines manufacturers.
Turbine
make
and
details
Rating
(MW)
Cut
in
(Hz)
Cut
out
(Hz)
Natural
frequency
change
allowed for a
strain-
hardening
site (%)
Natural
frequency
change
allowed for a
strain-
softening site
(%)
Natural
frequency
change
allowed
for an
unknown
site (%)
RE power
5 M
5.075 0.115 0.201 40 28 17
RE power
6 M
6.15 0.128 0.201 56 36 22
Vestas
V90
3 0.143 0.306 15 13 7
Vestas
V120
4.5 0.165 0.248 63 39 24
NREL
5 MW
5 0.115 0.201 40 28 17
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This leads to the similitude relationship given by Eq. (2).
L
b
_ _
model

L
b
_ _
prototype
1
where L is the length of the tower and b is the spacing of the
caissons,
D
h
_ _
model

D
h
_ _
prototype
2
where D is the diameter of the caisson and h is the depth of
the caisson.
(2) Mass distribution similarity: In order to model the vibration of
the tower, the mass distribution between the different com-
ponents needs to be preserved. In other words the ratios M
1
:
M
2
: M
3
: m in Fig. 3 need to be maintained in model and
prototype.
M
1
: M
2
: M
3
: m
model
M
1
: M
2
: M
3
: m
prototype
3
(3) Relative stiffness between suction caisson and the surrounding
soil: The stiffness of the caissons relative to the soil needs to be
preserved in the model so that the caisson interacts similarly
with the soil as in the prototype. Caisson exibility affects both
the dynamics and the soilstructure interaction and as a result
this mechanism is of particular interest. Based on the work of
Doherty et al. [13] the non-dimensional exibility of a suction
caisson is given by
Et
GD
4
where
Eelastic modulus of caisson skirt (GPa)
t thickness of caisson skirt (mm)
Gshear modulus of surrounding soil (GPa)
Ddiameter of the caisson (m)
The above group can be derived from the expression of hoop
stress (s

) developed in a thin walled cylindrical pressure

vessel given by the following equation:
s

p
pD
t
5
noting that s

is the stress in the caisson which is proportional

to the elastic modulus of caisson skirt (E) and p is the pressure
applied by the soil, dependent on the shear modulus (G).
Therefore the following relationship should be maintained:
Et
GD
_ _
model

Et
GD
_ _
prototype
6
(4) Vertical load and lateral load combination: The loading encoun-
tered in a single caisson in a multipod foundation (Fig. 1b and
c) is a combination of vertical and horizontal load. For a
combination of lateral and vertical load, a failure envelope
given by the following equation is often used in practice:
V
V
max
_ _
i

H
H
max
_ _
j
1 7
where
H
max
bearing capacity in horizontal direction
V
max
bearing capacity in vertical direction
V vertical load on the individual caisson
Hhorizontal load on the caisson and Senders and Kay
[23] suggest i j 3.
The non-dimensional group to preserve is V=V
max
which is
proportional to V=D
3
for sandy soil where is the buoyant
soil unit weight (KN/m
3
) and D is the caisson diameter (m).
The relationship for clay soil is given by Eq. (8c). Therefore the
following relationship should hold:
V
V
max
_ _
model

V
V
max
_ _
prototype
8a
V

0
D
3
_ _
model

0
D
3
_ _
prototype
for sandy soil 8b
V
s
u
D
2
_ _
model

V
s
u
D
2
_ _
prototype
for clay soil 8c
Details of the derivation is provided in Appendix 1. The lateral
load acting on the caisson can be derived from the cyclic stress
ratio in the shear zone next to the footing which is quite
similar to the case for pile as derived in Bhattacharya et al. [6]
due to the fact that caissons and monopiles will act as a rigid
body. Further details on the derivation of the group can be
found in Appendix A of Lombardi et al. [19]. This leads us to a
non-dimensional group (Eq. (9)) that must be satised.
H
GD
2
_ _
model

H
GD
2
_ _
prototype
9
(5) Damping of the system: The damping of a structure also has a
signicant effect on the motions experienced by the structure
under dynamic loading conditions. As a result the regime of
damping of the prototype system should be replicated by that
of the model system: critical damping, under-damping or
over-damping. This has been ensured by maintaining constant
the damping ratio of both systems.
The non-dimensional groups derived are summarised in
Table 3. Table 4 lists typical values of these groups for a
limited number of suction caissons whose properties are
available in the public domain. The spacing of suction caissons,
masses of tripod frame and jacket are taken based on design
values.
3.1. Designing experiments
Using the scaling laws detailed above the experiments can
subsequently be designed. Once the total vertical load is known
given by Eq. (8a), the mass distribution given by Eq. (3) needs to be
maintained. Three asymmetric tripods (1:200, 1:150 and 1:100)
and one tetrapod (1:100) were designed, built and tested.
The mass distributions of the models are given in Table 5. It must
be mentioned that the three scaled models do not represent the
same prototype as the soil test beds were different. As the main
aim of the paper is to characterise the dynamics of the system,
only the relevant groups are described in this section.
3.2. Experimental setup
This section will describe the different types of setup used in this
study. Fig. 4 shows the setup for 3 types of wind turbine systems. All
the tests were carried out at Bristol Laboratory for Advanced
Dynamics Engineering (BLADE) in a soil container having rigid
boundaries. For practical and economic reasons, the soil container
used was of limited size. For the dynamic problem in hand, harmonic
waves are generated by the movement of the pile or the suction
caissons. The propagating waves will constantly lose energy (mainly
radiation damping) until they reach the rigid wall of the container.
Upon reection there (which is theoretically possible), any wave will
S. Bhattacharya et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 54 (2013) 4760 51
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have such negligible energy that would be unable to change the soil
matrix around the foundation. A theoretical assessment is carried out
(see Appendix 2) to nd the optimum container size based on
horizontal wave propagation as proposed by Nogami and Novak [21].
The results showed that, for the suction caisson problems treated
herein, the wall boundary effects get diminished after about 5 times
the caisson radius. The model tests were carried out in the central
part of the chamber to ensure minimal inuence due to the wall
boundary conditions.
The testing apparatus and the methodology for monopile
(Fig. 4a) and tetrapod foundation (Fig. 4b) can be found in
Bhattacharya et al. [8]. For the tetrapod structure, the model
caissons were 7.4 cm in diameter, 5.5 cm deep and spaced at
40 cm apart in two directions. The other structure (asymmetric
tripod, Fig. 4c) consisted of three caissons measuring 10 cm in
diameter by 5 cm depth, spaced at an orthogonal distance of
51.5 cm centre to centre creating an asymmetric arrangement. The
tripod was created following guidance offered by the manufac-
turer at 1:100 scale. For both the multipod models it was assumed
that they would be supporting a standard NREL 5 MW wind
Table 4
Values of typical prototype turbine values.
Non-dimensional group Prototype Remarks
a
L
b
_ _
23 Lheight of tower90 m
bspacing of caissons for a asymmetric tripod45 m (typical)
bSpacing of caissons for a typical jacket30 m
D
h
_ _
12 Frederikshavn offshore wind farm site
Ddiameter of the caisson12 m
hdepth of the caisson6 m
Wilhelmshaven offshore wind farm site:
Ddiameter of the caisson16 m
hdepth of the caisson15 m
M
1
: M
2
: M
3
: m
Msum M
1
M
2
M
3
m
M
1
63% Msum For a tripod,
M
1
(mass of the foundation frame)1200 t
M
2
18% Msum M
2
(mass of the tower)350 t (NREL)
M
3
16% Msum M
3
(mass of the nacelle including rotor)300 t (NREL)
m3% Msum m (mass of one blade)18 t (typical)
For a typical jacket:
M
1
(mass of the jacket)1000 t
Et
GD
_ _
8.515 For the Frederikshavn offshore wind farm site the value is around 15
For Wilhelmshaven offshore wind farm site, the value is around 8.5
V

0
D
3
_ _
0.180.24 For Frederikshavn site the value is around 0.24
For Wilhelmshaven site, the value is around 0.18
a
Typical values for the sites are obtained from Houlsby et al. [16].
Table 5
Mass distribution of the differently scaled models (see Table 4).
Type of
foundation
Mass of the components
Asymmetric
tripod
1:100 scale [M
1
1.90 kg, M
2
0.55 kg, M
3
0.5 kg,
m0.08 kg]
1:150 scale [M
1
4.58 kg, M
2
1.89 kg, M
3
2.59 kg,
m0.34 kg]
1:200 scale [M
1
2.60 kg, M
2
1.1 kg, M
3
1.5 kg,
m0.2 kg]
Table 3
Scaling laws for studying the dynamics of wind turbines considering soilstructure interaction.
Name of the non-
dimensional group
Physical meaning Remarks
L
b
_ _
This is to excite similar modes of vibration and apply
proportional moment loading to the model
Geometric scaling of length. This is applicable for caisson foundations.
D
h
_ _
Aspect ratio of a caisson to have similar ow and proportional
soil resistance (shaft and end-bearing)
Geometric similarity of the model. This is mostly applicable to caisson
foundations
M
1
: M
2
: M
3
: m Proportional mass distribution along the length of the model Mass distribution similarity
Et
GD
_ _
Flexibility of the caisson skirts so as to have similar soil
structure interaction
This is applicable to caisson foundations
H
GD
2
_ _
Strain eld in the soil around the pile and Cyclic Stress Ratio
(CSR) in the shear zone i.e. ratio of shear stress to the
vertical effective stress at a particular depth
Similar strain eld which will control the degradation of soil stiffness
V
Vmax
_ _
Having similar factor of safety on vertical bearing capacity This is applicable to caisson foundations or shallow foundations
k
h
f
f
D
_ _
Rate of loading Modelling consolidation and the dissipation of pore water pressure. Details
discussion can be found in Bhattacharya et al. [6]
f
f
f
n
_ _
Relative spacing of the forcing frequencies and the natural
frequencies
System dynamics. This group takes care of the overall stiffness of the system.
Details discussion can be found in Bhattacharya et al. [6]
f
b
f
n
_ _
Relative spacing of the blade natural frequency and the overall
natural frequency
Interaction between the tower modes and blade modes
Py
ED
2
tw
_ _
Bending strain in the pile Non-linearity in the material of the pile. Details discussion can be found in
Bhattacharya et al. [6].
Py
syD
2
tw
_ _
Stress level in the pile Fatigue limit state. Details discussion can be found in Bhattacharya et al. [6].
S. Bhattacharya et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 54 (2013) 4760 52
Author's personal copy
turbine. This led to two distinctive, and representative wind
turbine arrangements.
The overall experimental campaign carried out consists of
different types of foundations in various types of soils (dry and
saturated ne or coarse sand, saturated clay). However, the model
tests reported in this paper were carried out in dry Leighton
Buzzard fraction E sand having the following characteristics: silica
sand, critical angle of friction 32

, D
50
0.14 mm, D
10
0.095 mm,
maximum and minimum void ratio of 1.014 and 0.613 respectively.
As with previous tests, an assessment of the shear modulus of the
sand was made using the method proposed by Hardin and
Drnevich [15]. For all the sand tests the sand shear modulus
remained within the region of 4.04.7 MPa (measured from mid
depth of the caisson). This related to void ratio of about 0.9, which
is equivalent to a relative density of 28%.
The operational load in a typical wind turbine generates drained
response in the soil in the sense that there is no pore water pressure
accumulation during the cycles of loading. However, during extreme
storm or earthquake, the soil behaviour around the foundation is
partially drained or in some cases can be undrained where there
can be accumulation of pore water pressure. As a result, use of dry
sand can be justied for operational non-extreme conditions.
Each test was conducted following a standard procedure:
(i) An undisturbed homogeneous sand bed was created for each
experiment by dry pluviating a body of sand into a stiff box.
The density of the sand could be varied by changing the fall
height and the aperture diameter in the pluviator.
(ii) The shear modulus of the sand was then calculated allowing
an assessment of the foundation stiffness to be made using
Hardin and Drnevich [15].
(iii) The turbine model was then carefully installed into the sand
matrix under the application of a dead load. Care was taken
not to disturb the sand surrounding the caissons.
(iv) The model was then instrumented with an array of acceler-
ometers and attached to an actuator. The natural frequency was
assessed via either a snap back test or a burst of white noise
applied to the structure through the actuator. The corresponding
acceleration response of the system was used to assess the
natural or rst modal frequency (FMF) of the structure.
Fig. 4. Small scale wind turbine model supported on different types of foundation: (a) monopile; (b) symmetric tetrapod foundation and (c) asymmetric tripod.
S. Bhattacharya et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 54 (2013) 4760 53
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(v) Using the same actuator a period of cyclic load was applied to
the model so as to maintain H=GD
2
non-dimensional group
in the range 10
4
. Typical load applied is 6 N for a tripod in
sand. The frequency of the applied loading is chosen so to
have f
f
=f
n
in the range of 0.850.9. Typical applied frequency
of the loading for the monopile is 3 Hz.
(vi) This loading regime was applied to the structure for a set
time period: for most cases this was one hour and the
number of cycles applied was dependent on the frequency
of the loading. After the forcing regime had been applied the
natural frequency was again assessed via either a snap back
test or a burst of white noise. The forcing regime was re-
applied and the process repeated.
(vii) After a number of cycles had been applied to the structure
the forcing regime was stopped and assessment of the
natural frequency repeated. The change in FMF with number
of cycles could then be analysed.
Fig. 5 shows the asymmetric model arrangement in a typical
setup. This procedure was repeated a number of times for a
number of different lateral loads and forcing frequencies. This
procedure was identical for the tripod and it was tested in kaolin
clay (having shear modulus of 6 MPa). Details of testing of small
scale models in clay and the properties of the clay can be found in
Bhattacharya et al. [6].
4. Results of the tests
This section shows typical free vibration test results from the
various setup.
4.1. Free vibration response of a monopile supported wind turbine
Fig. 6 shows the free vibration data from a typical snap back
test performed on a wind turbine with monopile foundation in
sand (Fig. 4(a)). The test results are plotted in the frequency
domain using the Welch [24] method. The system has a single
dominant frequency of about 3.3 Hz: the foundation provides
signicant exibility to the wind turbine system which has a xed
base frequency of 10.27 Hz. A second peak can be observed at
about 17 Hz which is 5.15 times the rst peak and corresponds to
the second cantilever mode of the tower. It may be worth noting
that the rst three modes of vibration of a xed based cantilever
beam are given by
f
n

1
2

2
n

EI
ML
4

10
where
n
is a mode number parameter having the value of 1.875,
4.694, 7.855 for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd mode respectively. EI is the
bending stiffness of the beam having length L and M is the mass
per unit length of the beam. From Eq. (10) the ratio of natural
frequencies of the rst and second modes is 6.26. Our observed
ratio of 5.15 results from the exibility of the foundation.
More details on the dynamics of monopile supported wind
turbines are given in Lombardi [20], Adhikari and Bhattacharya
[2,3], Bhattacharya and Adhikari [7] and Bhattacharya et al. [8].
Bhattacharya et al. [8] reported that model wind turbines founded
Fig. 5. Schematic diagram of the test setup for asymmetric tripod.
Fig. 6. Free vibration response of pile-supported wind turbine and tetrapod-
supported wind turbine.
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in sands (both dry and saturated) exhibited stiffening up resulting
in an increase in frequency presumably as a result of densication
of the soil next to the pile. On the other hand in clay soil, the
foundation degraded causing reduction in the frequency of the
system with the number of cycles. For foundations in soft clay, the
frequency drops as a function of the strain level (the group H=GD
2
in Table 3) in the soil and also the number of loading cycles.
4.2. Free vibration response of a symmetric tetrapod supported wind
turbine
Fig. 6 also shows a free vibration of a tetrapod supported wind
turbine on sand (see Fig. 4(b)). Three peaks can be seen in the test
results when plotted as spectrum in the frequency domain. These
data were recorded just after installation. In contrast to the
monopile, there are two very closely spaced peaks at 6.385 Hz
and 7.754 Hz and the third peak is observed at 18.5 Hz. The third
peak in the tetrapod response is similar to the second peak of the
response of a monopile corresponding to the second cantilever
mode of the tower. Fig. 7 shows the free vibration data of the
tetrapod system after 40,500 and 400,000 cycles. The rst two
peaks gradually converged to form a single peak after about
40,500 cycles until 400,000 cycles when the test was stopped.
The nal value of this converged frequency was 8.1 Hz. It may be
concluded that symmetric tetrapod foundations initially
responded in two different natural frequencies and the two spaced
values after intensive repetitive loading converged into a single
one, that seemed unchanged over time. It was veried by accel-
erometers in two orthogonal directions that this effect owes to the
fact that the lowest modes in the two principal vibration axes are
detuned (i.e. having different frequencies) and get progressively
tuned while cyclically being excited with the operational load.
A plausible reason is that the loads get continuously redistributed
in the four supports until homogeneity of how the load spreads
around is reached i.e. all caissons attain the same stiffness.
4.3. Free vibration response of an asymmetric tripod supported wind
turbine
Fig. 8 shows a typical free vibration response of three scaled
asymmetric tripods in sand where it can be clearly seen that there
are two closely spaced peaks at all the three scales. This
Fig. 8. Typical test result from snap-back test on the asymmetric tripod on sand.
Fig. 7. Cumulative results for snap-back test on the tetrapod supported wind
turbine model on sand.
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observation of two closely spaced peaks is quite similar to the
symmetric tetrapod as presented in Fig. 6. Fig. 9 shows a typical
free vibration response of a 1:150 scale model in clay where two
peaks can also be observed. In order to understand the reason
behind the two peaks, the free vibration test was carried out on
the same 1:150 scaled model whereby two accelerometers were
oriented in their principle axis (see by XX and YY in the inset of
Fig. 10). This test conrmed that these modes are due to the
rocking motion of the entire system in two principle axis (XX
and YY in Fig. 11) and the values of the frequency are different.
This phenomenon was further conrmed through a numerical
study as shown in Fig. 11. Fig. 11 shows the output from a
numerical analysis showing the rst two modes of vibration.
The scaled models were then subjected to millions of cycles
and the change in dynamic characteristics were monitored
through white noise testing and/or snap back testing. Fig. 12
shows the progressive change in dynamic characteristics of the
system after 400,000 cycles, 800,000 cycles, 1.2 M and 1.6 M
cycles. It is interesting to note that the tripod arrangement
persistently maintained two closely spaced frequencies
throughout testing. Furthermore, the lower peak shifts towards
the right indicating a strain-stiffening behaviour. This behaviour
is in contrast to the symmetric tetrapod behaviour where the
two peaks converged to form a single peak, the reasons for
which is explored in the next section.
5. Multipod dynamic behaviour and modelling
Evaluation of the rst natural frequency of the wind turbine system
is critical for avoiding resonant response and subsequent excessive
vibration amplitudes that may deteriorate fatigue performance. Multi-
pod arrangements have been customarily treated dynamically in the
same way as monopiles [25,26], while comparative approaches
assessing the relative merits of different types of foundations have
centered on response far from the operational dynamic characteristics
[22]. The observed behaviour in the scale tests reported in this paper is
quite distinct, indicating salient features not previously reported for
offshore multipod foundations. They are: (a) multipod foundations
have two peak responses i.e. two closely spaced natural frequencies
due to the combination of rigid rocking modes and the exible modes
of the tower; (b) the natural frequencies of wind turbine supported on
multipod foundations change with repeated cycles of loading; and
(c) there is a convergence of peaks for symmetric tetrapod but not for
asymmetric tripod.
An explanation for such an observation can be obtained from
standard lumped mass discrete models, where the foundation
caissons are replaced by linear springs and dashpots as in
Andersen et al. [4]. For the present case, frequency-independent
springs have been assumed and the damping parameters, not
being essential for the current analysis, were set without any loss
of generality to zero. Fig. 13 illustrates such discrete modelling
realisations for the tetrapod and tripod foundations, when decou-
pling the planar motions along the principal axes X and Y.
Assuming homogeneity across the soil substrate each caisson is
assigned an identical spring of vertical stiffness K
V
both in tension
(uplift) and compression. All springs are connected to the top mass
through a rigid beam. Writing the undamped equations of motion
in the XZ and YZ plane for both cases it can be seen that the effect
of the rigid beam rocking (i.e. rotation ) is different for the two
planes when considering the tripod solution. Different dynamic
and static coupling exists, consequently leading to different modal
frequencies out of the relevant eigenvalue problem.
In contrast, the symmetry of the square tetrapod will produce
identical frequencies in the two orthogonal vibration planes
considered. Any deviation from a single frequency motion initially
observed during tetrapod testing should be the result of slight
disparities in the symmetry of the arrangement, for example the
spatial variability of soil causing different values of K
V
for the four
caissons. These disparities could affect the initial values of spring
stiffness (K
V
) but under repeated cyclic loading they converge to a
constant value. The loads become redistributed and the amplitude
of vibrations stiffens the sand matrix eventually making the values
of K
V
converge and the two closely spaced natural frequencies
converge to form a single peak as shown in Fig. 7.
Any asymmetric multipod foundation (e.g., tripod or rectangular)
will also produce two low natural frequencies. However in this case,
they are not expected to merge to form a single peak due to the fact
that the natural frequencies in the two principal planes (XZ and YZ)
are not the same. Due to strain stiffening effects i.e. compaction/
densication of the soil around the caissons, the lower peak moved
to the left but they did not merge (see Fig. 12). This is in contrast to
the symmetric tetrapod where the two peaks merged to form a
single peak. This particular aspect warrants further investigation and
consideration when designing such foundation structures.
Earlier it was quoted that the DNV guidelines require that the wind
turbine fundamental frequency lies in a narrow band between the 1P
and 3P frequency values. Yet in the case of two frequencies with a ratio
between them ranging between 1.2 and 1.5, as was the case here for a
tripod arrangement the task of tting both of them in a safe zone far
from resonance becomes more difcult. This aspect is shown in Fig. 14
where the various forcing powers are plotted along with the frequen-
cies. This upper panel of the gure shows schematically the four types
of loading, wind, wave, blade rotational excitation (1P) and the
interruption of wind caused by blade passing (3P). Vortex shedding
and other complex aerodynamic phenomena are not displayed in the
gure. The wind spectrum is the lowest frequency followed by the
20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
x 10
-6
Frequency [Hz]
P
o
w
e
r

s
p
e
c
t
r
a
l

a
m
p
l
i
t
u
d
e
Fig. 9. Typical test of asymetric tripod on kaolin clay.
Fig. 10. Typical test result from snap-back test on tripod supported wind turbine
model on clay.
S. Bhattacharya et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 54 (2013) 4760 56
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waves spectrum that has a marginally higher frequency content. The
blade rotational excitation is shown as a typical monochromatic
frequency with sidelobes caused by windowing. The blade passing is
idealised as a periodic boxcar function whose Fourier spectrum is a
spike at 3P and all integer multiples of 3P.
On the other hand, the lower panel of the gure shows the
frequency response function of a hypothetical design in the softstiff
band. The monopiled structure has a single peak in the Frequency
Response Function (FRF) at f
1a
. This is in contrast to the tripod structure
that has two closely spaced peaks f
1a
and f
1b
. These two peaks inevitably
broaden the range of frequencies that can be excited by the loading. The
possibility of coincidence of 6f (the rst harmonic of blade passing) and
the second/third peak of the system FRF is also a potential concern. This
also may coincide with the blade natural frequency which is about 1 Hz.
In this context, it may be noted that according to current suggestions for
tripod arrangement characteristics [11] the second natural frequency
encountered would always fall in the 3P zone.
6. Conclusions
Offshore wind turbines are dynamically sensitive structures
as a result of the mass distribution along their length and also
because the forcing frequencies of the applied loads are close
to their natural frequencies. A so-called softstiff system is
used in practice whereby the global fundamental frequency of
the overall wind turbinefoundation system is chosen to lie in
the interval between turbine and blade passing frequencies
which may be a very narrow band, typically between 0.22 Hz
and 0.31 Hz. It has been demonstrated that the natural fre-
quency of the overall system shifts (i.e. decreases or increases)
with cycles of loading due to stiffening or softening of the
foundation system. Between 7% and 24% change in natural
frequency can be allowed for a wind turbine system depending
on the make of the turbine (gures correspond to the ve
representative cases selected herein) and in the absence of
very reliable site characteristics, that is knowledge of whether
the foundation system will stiffen or soften.
Results from scaled models of multipod (tetrapod and asymmetric
tripod) supported wind turbines showed quite distinct behaviours,
indicating a salient feature never previously reported for such offshore
foundations. The response of monopile systems in sand will be
governed by the large number of repeated cycles of lateral load, which
lead to compaction and stiffening of the system. On the other hand,
multipod foundations' behaviour will be governed by rocking motions
and the redistribution of forces in the supporting pods. Specic
conclusions derived from the study are summarised below
(1) Wind turbines on multipod foundation will have two closely
spaced natural frequencies corresponding to rocking modes of
vibration. These two close frequency values are effectively the
rst natural frequency in two principle vibration axes. This is
in contrast to the monopile foundation system where a single
spectral peak will be observed in the response power spec-
trum and the second peak, (resulting from the second bending
mode of the tower) will typically be located at a natural
frequency about 5 times higher.
(2) The closely spaced spectral peaks for multipod foundations
shift with cycles of loading as a result of the soilstructure
interaction. Therefore dynamic soilstructure interaction is an
important design consideration to predict the short and long
term performance of these structures.
(3) The responses of a symmetric tetrapod and an asymmetric
tripod under long term cyclic loading are very different. For a
symmetric tetrapod, the rst two closely spaced spectral peaks
Fig. 11. Modes of vibration of the asymetric tripod.
Fig. 12. Typical test result from snap-back test on asymmetric tripod supported
wind turbine model on sands in steps of 400,000 cycles of loading.
S. Bhattacharya et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 54 (2013) 4760 57
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converge to form a single peak after tens of thousands of
cycles. On the other hand, for the asymmetric tripod, the two
closely peaks do not converge even after being subjected to
1.6 M cycles.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank the following project
students: Anabel Young; Bretton Davies; Hannah Steedman; Maria
Fig. 13. Lumped mass modelling of the tetrapod and tripod foundation solutions. For the two different cases, the inuence of elastic foundations is inherently different along
the two principal vibration axes.
Fig. 14. Relationship between effect of natural frequency of suction caisson and monopile on the forcing frequencies.
S. Bhattacharya et al. / Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 54 (2013) 4760 58
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Benjaminsdottir; Sina Zeraati and Samuel Scott for their enthu-
siasm in carrying out many of the tests. The authors also acknowl-
edge the excellent technical support obtained from Clive Rendall
and Tony Grifths. Necessary funding for carrying out these tests
was obtained from RWE Innogy.
Appendix 1. Derivation of scaling laws given by Eqs. (8b) and
(8c)
Using bearing capacity theory, one can obtain the following
equation for V
max
:
V
max
D
f
N
q

1
2
DN

S
u
N
C
_ _

4
D
2
where D is the caisson diameter
For sandy soil (S
u
0) and taking into consideration that the
foundation is at the surface (D
f
0), it may be easily noted that the
V
max
is proportion to D
3
. However for clay soil, it is obvious that
V
max
is proportional to S
u
D
2
.
Appendix 2. Assessment of chamber size effects for dynamic
soilstructure interaction testing of wind turbines
For technical reasons, the soil container used throughout the
experimental campaign is of limited size. An assessment is therefore
necessary to nd the optimum dimension that may be required. This
appendix reports a theoretical study to nd such a size specication.
A cylindrical section of radius r
p
(suction caisson radius) is
embedded in a soil and the soil layer is excited by horizontal harmonic
motion (having unit amplitude and frequency ) of the suction
caisson. A cylindrical coordinate system r; ; z representation has
been used to study the problem. Using potential functions related to
longitudinal and shear waves, Nogami and Novak [21] derived the
expressions for displacements and stresses in the soil for a similarly
shaped pile. The amplitudes u (in radial r direction) and v (in
direction) for soil displacement due to the imposed harmonic motion
are represented as a series of innite terms, each given by Eqs. (Ai) and
(Aii), corresponding to the innite modes that are excited in the soil.
u
n
r; ; z cos U sinh
n
z
A
n
1
r
K
1
q
n
r q
n
K
0
q
n
r
_ _
B
n
1
r
K
1
s
n
r
_ _ _ _
Ai
v
n
r; ; z cos U sinh
n
z
A
n
1
r
K
1
q
n
r
_ _
B
n
1
r
K
1
s
n
r s
n
K
0
s
n
r
_ _ _ _
Aii
where h
n
, q
n
and S
n
are given by Eq. (18) in Nogami and Novak [21]
and K
1
q
n
r, K
1
S
n
r, K
0
q
n
r and K
0
S
n
r are modied Bessel func-
tions of order n. It can be easily shown that the functions K
1
q
n
r,
K
1
S
n
r, K
0
q
n
r and K
0
S
n
r converge to zero for jq
n
rj-1 and
jS
n
rj-1[5] and present their minimumvalues at n1. A
n
and B
n
are
given by Eq. (22) in Nogami and Novak [21]. On this basis, one can
evaluate the convergence rates for the soil displacement modal
amplitudes u
n
and v
n
for various values of the radius r (when
assuming unit modal amplitude values u
n0
and v
n0
).
Fig. A1. (a) Radial displacement of the soil for the tetrapod case, and (b)
circumferential displacement of the soil for the tetrapod case.
Fig. A2. (a) Radial displacement of the soil for the tripod case, and (b) circumfer-
ential displacement of the soil for the tripod case.
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Results for the suction caisson supported tetrapod and tripod tests
Fig. A1(a) and (b) shows the results of analysis for a tetrapod
suction caisson case, which has diameter 7.4 cm and depth 5.5 cm;
the rst 4 modes are shown. The results indicate that any wall
boundary effects get negligible at about 5 times the suction
caisson radius.
Fig. A2(a) and (b) shows the results of analysis for a tripods
suction caisson having 10 cm diameter and 5 cm depth; again the
rst 4 modes are shown. The results very similar to before
illustrate the absence of wall boundary effects at less than 5 times
the radius of the suction caisson.
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